SunOpta Inc. (STKL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 530,003 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the previous session’s volume of 423,392 shares.The stock last traded at $4.78 and had previously closed at $4.60.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Wednesday, April 13th. DA Davidson raised shares of SunOpta from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 13th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 4th. Finally, AltaCorp Capital reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Tuesday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.50.

The firm’s market cap is $414.72 million. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $4.35 and a 200 day moving average of $5.13.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 10th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $352.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $351.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.08 earnings per share. SunOpta’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that SunOpta Inc. will post $0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

In other news, Director Douglas Greene purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $3.77 per share, with a total value of $188,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 265,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,097.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hendrik Jacobs purchased 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.85 per share, for a total transaction of $26,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,638 shares in the company, valued at $160,306.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STKL. Baker Chad R purchased a new stake in SunOpta during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,977,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in SunOpta by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,234,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,965,000 after buying an additional 270,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in SunOpta by 123,646.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,693,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,783,000 after buying an additional 6,688,045 shares in the last quarter.

SunOpta Inc operates businesses focused on a healthy products portfolio. The Company operates through two segments: Global Ingredients and Consumer Products. Its Global Ingredients segment aggregates its North American and international raw material sourcing and supply operating segments focused on the procurement, processing and sale of specialty and organic grains and seeds, fruits, grain- and cocoa-based ingredients, and other commodities.